Utah Asbestos & Mesothelioma

Asbestos in Utah

The industrial facilities where the risk of asbestos exposure is at its highest include oil refineries, steam powered electrical plants, steel mills and forges, shipyards, and generally any factory that uses heat as part of the production process. Utah was not part of the industrialization process that brought steel to Pennsylvania and oil to Texas, has no ports and is too far geographically to have developed support businesses involved in the heavy industries of the Rust Belt.

Nevertheless the state has its share of oil refineries, most of which have been in place for enough years that asbestos was certainly used in their construction. Power plants have been built as the state grew and many of them precede the asbestos-free era of construction. Asbestos products were used to build homes, as well as industrial and commercial facilities up to the mid 1980s.

Steel mills in Geneva and Provo were likely locations for asbestos exposure; the Chevron facility in Salt Lake City and the Phillips refinery in Woodcross also undoubtedly had asbestos insulation along the production line when they were built.

There are other facilities in the state that are known to have exposed employees to asbestos; there is a partial list below. Some are closed and some have been cleaned up but individuals who were employed there are nonetheless at risk. The characteristics of asbestos-related illnesses are the reason.

Asbestos affects humans because when it is used, disturbed or disintegrates it can give off tiny fibers. When those fibers are inhaled or somehow ingested they imbed themselves in the lining of the lung or in other parts of the body and are impossible to shed. Over a period of several years they can cause scarring of the lungs, which leads to asbestosis; or worse, to creation of malformed and malignant cells in membranes that line the chest and abdominal cavities, causing mesothelioma cancer.

It can take decades after asbestos exposure for mesothelioma symptoms to appear. For that reason if you were ever employed at one of the locations listed below you should talk with your doctor about it and get regular checkups. If you have been diagnosed with an asbestos related disease, get in touch with an experienced attorney who can help you pursue the compensation owed to you by the asbestos manufacturers.

NAVAL SUPPLY DEPOT CLEARFIELD UT
IPP POWER PLANT DELTA UT
COLUMBIA GENEVA STEEL DIVISION GENEVA UT
GENEVA WORKS GENEVA UT
U. S. STEEL CORPORATION - GENEVA WORKS GENEVA UT
UTAH POWER & LIGHT HUNTINGTON UT
KENNECOTT COPPER MAGNA UT
HILL AIR FORCE BASE OGDEN UT
IRS BUILDING OGDEN UT
OGDEN DEFENSE DEPOT OGDEN UT
UTAH ARMY DEPOT - AUC OGDEN UT
UTAH CANNING PLANT OGDEN UT
HUNTER POWER PLANT PRICE UT
BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY PROVO UT
US STEEL PROVO UT
BULLOUGH ASBESTOS SALT LAKE CITY UT
CHEVRON CHEMICAL SALT LAKE CITY UT
CHEVRON OIL SALT LAKE CITY UT
FIBERGLAS ENGINEERING & SUPPLY CO. SALT LAKE CITY UT
GADSBY POWER PLANT SALT LAKE CITY UT
HOLY CROSS HOSPITAL SALT LAKE CITY UT
HUNTER INSULATION SALT LAKE CITY UT
INDUSTRIAL SERVICE AND ENGINEERING CO. SALT LAKE CITY UT
J C PENNY BUILDING SALT LAKE CITY UT
OCF CORPORATION SALT LAKE CITY UT
OWENS-CORNING FIBERGLAS CORP. SALT LAKE CITY UT
PACIFICORP SALT LAKE CITY UT
ROOSEVELT JR. HIGH SCHOOL SALT LAKE CITY UT
SALT LAKE CITY REFINERY SALT LAKE CITY UT
STANDARD OIL REFINERY SALT LAKE CITY UT
SKYLINE INSULATION, INC. SALT LAKE CITY UT
TURPINS SALT LAKE CITY UT
UNIVERSITY OF UTAH SALT LAKE CITY UT
UTAH OIL REFINERY SALT LAKE CITY UT
UTAH POWER & LIGHT SALT LAKE CITY UT
WESTERN GYPSUM SIGURD UT
URANIUM REDUCTION CO. THOMPSON UT
PHILLIPS PETROLEUM COMPANY WOODSCROSS UT
PHILLIPS WOODSCROSS REFINERY WOODSCROSS UT
SALT LAKE REFINERY WOODSCROSS UT

Deaths related to Asbestos Exposure in Utah

A study conducted six years ago analyzed the pattern of deaths due to asbestos exposure across the country, during the period between 1979 and 2000. The researchers found that Utah had a relatively low number compared to other states, but that they did occur and continue to be a health issue today.

The survey reported that over the twenty year period examined, Utah reported 59 deaths due to asbestosis and up to 154 deaths caused by malignant mesothelioma. That was during a period when asbestos was not the enormous health concern it is today.

In 1999 the federal government began tracking mesothelioma deaths carefully and reported that during the period between 1999 and 2004 there were 93 deaths due to mesothelioma. Comparison of the numbers suggests that mesothelioma continues to be a problem despite the current bans on products that contain asbestos.